team5Ben Makin’s absolute favorite part about working at Compass Rose is the team atmosphere. “I feel the support from each team member as we work to provide healing for our students and their families,” Ben said. “We have fun together with special parties or activities. The staff regularly gets together outside of work and there is genuine concern from staff members about how I am doing personally and professionally.” This involvement and collaboration are what makes Ben such an effective part of the Compass Rose program.

Ben is the Philosophy of Care Coach and has been at Compass Rose Academy for two full years in January. His role was originally created to bridge the gap between residential life and the therapeutic model. He helps support the direct care staff by providing coaching in Compass Rose’s specific model, helping make consequences for infractions growth-oriented instead of about punishment. Occasionally, you can find Ben running groups as well as assisting in process group and family therapy sessions. He can also be found helping with overall program planning and direction. Ben’s passion of enhancing emotionally-focused programming that also uses John Townsend’s Growth Model makes him a valuable asset in helping students.

He began working at Compass Rose Academy to fulfill his passions of using programming models to help students. “I feel that at Compass Rose, we are learning to take healthy risks by providing a different type of long lasting growth and not just correcting behaviors,” Ben said. “We want heart change.” This position also became a fantastic training opportunity in conjunction with completing his masters in Counseling from the Townsend Institute of Leadership and Counseling at Huntington University.

Ben is an avid Arsenal FC soccer fan, who in his free time enjoys diner coffee, Jeopardy and owns a wardrobe of sweaters that he claims would “make Mr. Rogers jealous.”